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Meanwhile, a lot of people I know were at the anti-war march yesterday. I considered going, but didn't for a number of petty reasons. But I fully support the ones that did.
The media coverage is amazing. The Statesman, Austin's daily, has been accused by many as being too liberal, yet the rallies (which were world-wide) take second chair next to articles declaring that Saddam is willing to do terrible things if attacked, and these tidbits from an AP article entitled ' Iraq gloats over wave of peace protests', a loaded headline if there ever was one. I am very un-fond of Saddam, but consider him to be no worse than a bunch of other guys out there, and believe GWB's fixation on him to be part personal vendetta and part attempt to distract us from stuff going on at home. So this transparent attempt to demonize The Enemy is absurd. They aren't relieved to have people taking up the cause against war made upon them, they are 'gloating'. Then there was this gem: 'In contrast to the international peace protests on Saturday, the mood of Iraq's demonstrations was defiant, echoing the official Iraqi rhetoric of the past several months: Iraq wants peace but it is also ready for war, should one start.' So from us, it's official statements, but from them it's rhetoric. Maybe I'm really naive, but I expect journalists to at least pretend to be objective.
This is one of the reasons I didn't go yesterday. I am depressed, and it looks like the war is going forth no matter what anyone says, so I figured I'd at least start yelling when the stupid thing actually starts. The right has such a chokehold on our government it's ridiculous, and yet they still play the David struggling against the mighty liberal Goliath for the soul of America. It's easier to rally the troops if you think in terms of being the little guy fighting the big fight against impossible odds, despite the fact that the very idea of the Republicans as the beleagured little guy is brain-liquefyingly absurd. But a lot of people, including my father, are buying into it. This article outlines what I'm talking about nicely. I know it's Salon and they're doing that weird ad thing, so I'll copy it into the next post. A lot of people need to see this.
The media coverage is amazing. The Statesman, Austin's daily, has been accused by many as being too liberal, yet the rallies (which were world-wide) take second chair next to articles declaring that Saddam is willing to do terrible things if attacked, and these tidbits from an AP article entitled ' Iraq gloats over wave of peace protests', a loaded headline if there ever was one. I am very un-fond of Saddam, but consider him to be no worse than a bunch of other guys out there, and believe GWB's fixation on him to be part personal vendetta and part attempt to distract us from stuff going on at home. So this transparent attempt to demonize The Enemy is absurd. They aren't relieved to have people taking up the cause against war made upon them, they are 'gloating'. Then there was this gem: 'In contrast to the international peace protests on Saturday, the mood of Iraq's demonstrations was defiant, echoing the official Iraqi rhetoric of the past several months: Iraq wants peace but it is also ready for war, should one start.' So from us, it's official statements, but from them it's rhetoric. Maybe I'm really naive, but I expect journalists to at least pretend to be objective.
This is one of the reasons I didn't go yesterday. I am depressed, and it looks like the war is going forth no matter what anyone says, so I figured I'd at least start yelling when the stupid thing actually starts. The right has such a chokehold on our government it's ridiculous, and yet they still play the David struggling against the mighty liberal Goliath for the soul of America. It's easier to rally the troops if you think in terms of being the little guy fighting the big fight against impossible odds, despite the fact that the very idea of the Republicans as the beleagured little guy is brain-liquefyingly absurd. But a lot of people, including my father, are buying into it. This article outlines what I'm talking about nicely. I know it's Salon and they're doing that weird ad thing, so I'll copy it into the next post. A lot of people need to see this.
